OLD BLOG

November 26, 2012

Catholic Worker Community in Hokianga

We are spending a few days up in the north with the Catholic Worker community who are spread over various low-tech farms in the Whirnaki/Opononi area of the Hokianga harbour, a site famous for the entry of Methodist and Catholic missionaries into New Zealand in the 1700's.

Great people. Some of them are fourth generation Catholic family members who have been here since Peter Land - philosopher/farmer - moved here a few decades ago. The community here is "screen free" so I am blogging near the beach so I don't have to violate the vibe. Like Dorothy Day, there is an anarchist bent here which is related more to pacifism than vandalism and, mixed with a Catholic ethos and a heart for the poor, its a good place view the world from Christ's perspective.

We have parked the truck at St Francis Farm but the kids have been hanging out at the "Clarehouse" in Opononi which is where a lot of the hospitality to travelers takes place.

What are we learning?

We are learning that despite how simple and sacrificial we think our nomadic lifestyle is, these people really know how to live with less and live off the land in a way that is effective and happy without being weird or self-righteous. They use solar power, hand-powered everything, clydesdales to pull carts, and one of husbands told me the most expensive thing they buy is tea leaves. We are talking of further downgrading our lifestyle and not being so OPULENT.

One of the signs here, next to a 1940's house truck, says "Live simply so that others may simply live."

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Catholic Worker Community in Hokianga

We are spending a few days up in the north with the Catholic Worker community who are spread over various low-tech farms in the Whirnaki/Opononi area of the Hokianga harbour, a site famous for the entry of Methodist and Catholic missionaries into New Zealand in the 1700's.

Great people. Some of them are fourth generation Catholic family members who have been here since Peter Land - philosopher/farmer - moved here a few decades ago. The community here is "screen free" so I am blogging near the beach so I don't have to violate the vibe. Like Dorothy Day, there is an anarchist bent here which is related more to pacifism than vandalism and, mixed with a Catholic ethos and a heart for the poor, its a good place view the world from Christ's perspective.

We have parked the truck at St Francis Farm but the kids have been hanging out at the "Clarehouse" in Opononi which is where a lot of the hospitality to travelers takes place.

What are we learning?

We are learning that despite how simple and sacrificial we think our nomadic lifestyle is, these people really know how to live with less and live off the land in a way that is effective and happy without being weird or self-righteous. They use solar power, hand-powered everything, clydesdales to pull carts, and one of husbands told me the most expensive thing they buy is tea leaves. We are talking of further downgrading our lifestyle and not being so OPULENT.

One of the signs here, next to a 1940's house truck, says "Live simply so that others may simply live."